With Thanksgiving and the holiday season on us, Alablama Policy Institute’s Gary Palmer looks into “Who Really Cares?”
In his book, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism, Professor Arthur C. Brooks reports that conservative families give about 30 percent more money to charity each year than liberal families, even though their income is about six percent less. Conservatives give more regardless of income bracket, even with lesser levels of education. Prof. Brooks, director of nonprofit studies at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, says that the difference is particularly strong when comparing religious conservatives and secular liberals.
That is fascinating! Here are a couple quotes that jumped out at me:
“The bottom line is, the more religious people are, the more likely they are to give. And religious people do not limit their giving to religious organizations. In fact, religious people are more likely than secular people to give to non-religious charities such as the United Way.
Moreover, charity among religious conservatives is not limited to giving only money; they are much more likely to volunteer their time and participate in other informal acts of charity. For instance, religious conservatives are twice as likely as secular people to donate their blood.”
[...] Who really cares? – a provocative piece highlighted by I, Pandora. In his book, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism, Professor Arthur C. Brooks reports that conservative families give about 30 percent more money to charity each year than liberal families, even though their income is about six percent less. Conservatives give more regardless of income bracket, even with lesser levels of education. [...]
And yet, around the world, I hear liberals saying, “Socialism will save the world!”